


Good Things

by Phoenecid



Series: Shadowhunters Canon AU's [2]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alec Lightwood-centric, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, Original Character(s), Pre-Canon, Protective Alec Lightwood, Protective Magnus Bane
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-02
Updated: 2020-12-02
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:27:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27839848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phoenecid/pseuds/Phoenecid
Summary: “I'm Alec,” The man spoke again, “Can you tell me your name?”Cass suddenly feels overwhelmed, it had been a while since someone had been nice to her - and it had been even longer since the nice person had truly meant it. People had tried, but she scared them off with her horrible unusually coloured pupil-less eyes. An elderly woman had even screamed at her, calling her a demon and an abomination. Cass wasn’t quite sure what the word meant but - it must be a bad word because the woman had shouted it and then spat in her face.-or; Alec finds an abandoned warlock child and changes everything
Relationships: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Series: Shadowhunters Canon AU's [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1521341
Comments: 15
Kudos: 215





	Good Things

**Author's Note:**

> So I was thinking, I love Alec and Madzie's friendship - like he's such a tough bastard w a soft spot for children how cute is that? No wonder Magnus snatched him up. I also wanted to write a fic more heavily focused on the downworld. That being said, this probably won't be a full rewrite of canon like my other one (unless people want that I'm still in the air about it) Let me know if you enjoy it (be delicate with me if you didn't) 
> 
> I decided to go with an oc child just bc I didn't want to take madzie away from the story (and also I wanted her to stay with cat !!) 
> 
> once again this is unbeta'd so if u spot any mistakes that make u furious let me know <3

Cass whimpered as she shook in the cold, the dumpster she had chosen to hide behind providing little protection from the biting wind that blew around her. She didn’t know how long she’d been hiding here, having curled up behind the dumpster as soon as she could after escaping the bad men who had tried to grab her from the park bench she’d claimed as hers for the night. She felt the familiar sting of tears welling up in her deep purple eyes. Cass wished she could go home, back to her nice bed that was warm and comfortable - but her parents didn’t want her. She was alone. 

“Hello.”

Cass shot back, her small back hitting the wall behind her with a thud, a hiccuping sob escaping her as she trembled in fear. The man in front of her looked more dangerous than the ones from earlier - she pressed herself back, trying to look as small as possible, screwing her eyes closed desperately. Hot tears spilled from her closed eyelids, streaming down her cheeks, her breath stuttered in harsh gasps. She curled her arms in front of her as she heard the rustling of clothes that she took to mean the man had crouched down in front of her, he thankfully made no other move to get closer to her. 

“Hey,” He said, softly, “Are you okay?” 

She shook her head violently, her unkempt dark hair flying through the air at the gesture. Cass didn’t want to talk to this man, he might be mean - he might try to hurt her. 

“No? Are you hurt? 

Cass brought her hands up to cover her ears, shaking her head again; she just wanted him to leave, her mama had said she  _ deserved  _ to be alone when she’d left her at the park far from home. She squinted up at him when she heard the man shift slightly, he’d moved from his previous position; he was now sitting cross-legged on the dirty floor, his elbows leaning on his knees as he leaned forward slightly, still staying back far enough that she wasn’t worried about him being in her space but closer than he was minutes ago. If she was older maybe she would have thought that the man had clearly had experience with calming troubled children down - as it is, she’s barely past seven, and the only thought in her mind is about how she hopes he isn’t mean.

“Do you live near here?” 

She didn’t know how to answer him, she doesn’t know where she is; hasn’t since she started living outside. She doesn’t think her bench is anywhere near here. She contemplates the question, she’d run for  _ ages,  _ and she’s very tired; Cass knows this scary man wants an answer but she doesn’t know how to give it. After a few minutes pass, she watches as the man’s eyebrows twitch - she tries very hard not to get distracted and giggle, her little hand moving to press against her mouth as she valiantly tries to contain her little laugh. He smiles at her. Oh she thinks, he’s not angry at her for making noise, maybe - maybe he isn’t mean. 

“My name’s Alec,” The man spoke again, “Can you tell me your name?” 

Cass suddenly feels overwhelmed, it had been a while since someone had been nice to her - and it had been even longer since the nice person had truly meant it. People had tried, but she scared them off with her horrible unusually coloured pupil-less eyes. An elderly woman had even screamed at her, calling her a demon and an abomination. Cass wasn’t quite sure what the word meant but - it must be a bad word because the woman had shouted it and then spat in her face. 

She makes eye contact with him for a brief second and she slams her eyes closed again. Maybe, she hopes, maybe he didn’t see her eyes properly. It’s dark after all and it was only a second of contact. She’s close to shaking again, convinced that he’s going to hurt her for daring to look at him with her nasty eyes. 

“Oh!” The man- Alec; her mind corrected, exclaimed. Cass whimpered and buried her face in her tiny hands, “Your eyes are really cool! Would you mind showing me properly?” 

‘Cool _?_ ’ Cass thought, shocked. No one had ever said her eyes were cool before. She slowly looked up from the palms of her hand - glancing at the man who was smiling at her. Her eyes widening as she let her shaking hands fall into her lap. She shuffled a little closer to the man, comforted by his kind smile. She knew she should know better - she may be young but she’d been living on the streets for a while now; however _,_ she could somehow clearly tell that this man didn’t want to harm her. 

“Oh wow, your eyes are really nice! Are you able to tell me your name, sweets?” 

Cass reached out a shaking hand, grasping onto one of the man's large fingers. She couldn’t speak even if she tried, she knew this - she had been barely talking when her parents decided that they couldn’t be bothered with her and her ‘issues’ Using her grip on Alec’s finger to turn it palm face up- she slowly and carefully spelled out her name with her brittle fingernail. 

  
‘C-A-S-S’ 

“Cass?” Alec asked, his smile never falling as he talked, “Ok Cass, would it be okay if I took a look at your cuts and bruises?” 

Cass nodded cautiously, she wanted to trust this kind man so badly. He very slowly shuffles forward, his sluggish pace obviously an attempt to help her feel less wary. Alec inspects her visible injuries quickly, pulling a compact first aid kit from one of his many pockets. He pulls out a little packet of colourful band-aids, patterned with little bats, as he places them over her grazed knees and elbows he smiles and tells her that they were a present from his sister, who said the man on the box made her think of him. 

“I assume she thought this due to the fact I don’t smile a lot.” He’s smiling as he says this. 

She wants to tell him that she thinks it’s because he’s a hero, and she  _ knows _ Batman’s a hero because she had watched loads of kids in capes and cowls of their own run around together and talk about how brave and  _ awesome  _ Batman is before they saw her and chased her off. 

Cass doesn’t know what ‘awesome’ is, but she thinks it could be a word for Alec. 

He places the last band-aid where it’s needed and offered her his hand, 

“Would it be okay if I helped you get somewhere safe?” 

She nods at him again, she’s happy he isn’t trying to force her to talk - people usually demand verbal answers that she cannot provide, before giving up on her and leaving. She grabs onto his hand as she struggles to her feet, snatching her hand away the minute she’s stable. 

“Are you okay to walk Cass? Or would you like me to carry you?” 

She would love to be carried - he looked warm in his dark jacket, but if she walked she would be able to get away quickly if Alec decided she wasn’t worth the trouble. Cass stumbles forward nervously, reaching out to grasp Alec’s limp hand to steady herself. He let her hold his hand, smiling gently - she flexes her fingers in his grasp; she could easily wiggle her hand free if she needed to, so she reasons that holding his hand wouldn’t be  _ too  _ bad of a decision. 

He’s tall, she thinks absently as she stares up at him, much taller than her daddy. The thought crosses her mind and tears bloom once again in her eyes. She tries to not think about her parents, how disappointing she was to them upsets her too much. Alec tugs gently on her hand, encouraging her to move forward - she takes an affirming breath and steps forward with the man, glancing up at him occasionally as they walk. 

The streets are dark, night had fallen hours ago. Cass wants to be scared, but holding hands with kind, tall Alec she finds that fear doesn’t fill her mind as quickly as it usually does. Her eyes fall to the sidewalk eventually, watching her tattered shoes tap against the floor. She giggles and starts to purposefully step on the cracks in between the slabs, she's so preoccupied with her silly game that it takes her a minute to remember that there is a man holding her hand, and that he wanted to take her to safety. Her breath hitches nervously, she looks up at him, he doesn’t seem bothered by her antics but she decides that she should stop playing her game because he might decide she’s taking too long. She’s so distracted by the thoughts of abandonment that swamp her that she missteps, and she crashes to the floor in a little heap - Alec, having kept his grip on her hand light in case she changed her mind about the contact is little help. He swears lightly as he bends to help her back to her feet. 

“You okay Cass?” He asks, his tone purposefully light. 

She refuses to cry about something so simple, even as she looks at the bandaids Alec had gently placed on her knees - ruined by the fall, her grazes now stinging with the new injection of gravel and dirt. She’s had worse, she tries to think to keep the tears at bay. She answers Alec’s nod with a small nod, reaching for his hand again - tugging on it to get him to keep going; she doesn’t want a small fall to be the reason he decides to leave her here. 

Alec crouches down to her level, keeping a hold of her hand he asks if she’s sure she doesn’t want to be carried the rest of the way. 

“It’s not much further but with your injuries and with how tired you must be I would be happy to help you by carrying you for a while if that’s okay with you?” He poses it as a question, Cass knows logically that if this man wanted to he could pick her up without blinking - yet he asks and to her, that means more than she would probably ever be able to put into words. 

Cass nods her consent, letting go of his hand and holding her arms out in a universally understood gesture of ‘I want to be picked up, please.’, he chuckles at her and grasps her by her armpits - he grunts exaggeratingly. She can’t help but giggle, delighted by the way he was acting. Alec holds her on his hip easily and she clings to him without regret; she really wishes she had done this sooner - he was so warm and his jacket was surprisingly comfortable to lay her head on, she can feel her eyes slipping closed as they move; the gentle movements of his walking pattern quickly making her drowsy. 

She dozes for an unknown amount of time, it isn’t until she feels the rush of warm air and hears the jingle of the bell as Alec enters a building that she jolts out of it. She goes to open her eyes, eager to see where he’s brought her but the lighting in the building is so intense in comparison to the outside that she can’t help but snap her eyes closed and bury her face back into the warm comfort of Alec again.

“What are you doing here,  _ Shadowhunter?”  _ Someone growls. 

The atmosphere is strained, even Cass knows that, young as she is. Alec has tensed up in a way that he wasn’t earlier, his shoulders stiff as he shifts her slightly. Various voices start shouting in their direction, she’s scared. Alec said she’d be safe, she thinks, so why are they yelling at her? She whimpers softly, choking on a sob as she tries to disappear into the warmth of the man who had found her. 

  
“Kidnapping children now, Shadowhunter?” A stern voice cuts through the calamity, the other people quieting at the question, “I want to say that I’m surprised but - why would I lie?” This is followed by a round of laughter. 

Cass feels Alec take a breath, he nudges her hair with his chin - so she looks up at him, her eyes feel less strained now, instead, she’s terrified. 

“Hey, it’ll be okay sweetie. We’re gonna find you somewhere safe I promise.” 

She hopes he’s telling the truth, she takes time to glance around the place they’d entered- it's warm and cozy, and almost filled with people even though she knows because of the sky that it’s pretty late. The people around them stare as Alec makes his way through the crowd to the bar with her, stopping in front of a woman with dark brown bouncy curls that framed her face prettily. Cass stared at the woman - her eyes sliding past her pretty hair, scowling face, and the thick vivid scars on her neck and landing on the outfit she was wearing. She gasped wordlessly, her eyes widening as she took in the whole thing. This woman looked so  _ cool.  _

Cass grabbed at Alec’s collar, not noticing the way that those around them stiffened at the action - clearly expecting the Shadowhunter to react in a negative way. Instead, the man glanced down at her with a small smile in askance, she pointed at the woman’s clothing quickly; before pointing at her eyes, bouncing slightly on Alec’s hip in excitement. 

She could tell when it clicked in the man’s head, he chuckled at her - before tilting his head in acknowledgment at her. 

“She thinks your outfit is very  _ cool. _ ” She nods quickly, she’s happy he understood. She wants the woman to know that Cass thinks she’s ‘cool’.

The woman behind the bar sighs, smiling despite herself - she rips her eyes away from Alec, making eye contact with Cass easily. 

  
“Thank you, I think you're pretty cool too.” Cass smiles at her happily, someone else thought she was cool too, she thinks, settling into Alec as she relaxes; content now that she’d gotten her point across. 

“What are you doing with a Warlock kid, Shadowhunter?” 

Cass feels Alec sigh, “I found her, she was hidden behind a dumpster - she was hurt and alone. I couldn’t just leave her there; and this is the closest place I could think of where I would find someone who could help her.” 

“Help? Why not just take her to your precious Institute?” 

“I- I couldn’t be sure of how they would react. An unknown Warlock child? I was concerned - with how they would resolve the situation.”

The woman laughs. 

“So you admit that The Clave would treat the child unfairly just because of her birth?” 

Alec grunted. He was uncomfortable, Cass could tell - she wished she could help him. 

“Look, I can’t,” He sighed, “I can’t deny that. Nor am I in any sort of position to change that at the moment.” 

He’s quickly interrupted by Maia, her voice unwavering. 

“Oh, is that so Mr. Head of the Institute?” 

Alec flinched.

“Oh, did you think we wouldn’t recognise you Lightwood? Your siblings pop by now and then, looking for a Downworlder to  _ play  _ with. They get pretty rowdy and when they're drunk they get loud about their annoying older brother and his ‘rule’s’. Guess they don’t respect you enough to listen to you.” 

“I’m the  _ Interim  _ Head. I have very little power beyond the paperwork I have to fill out. I mean, you just said yourself; my siblings don’t even listen to me. Do you think I could get an entire Institute to change their attitudes? Believe me, I’ve tried.” 

The woman scoffs, obviously not impressed; Cass blinks her eyes open to stare at her again, she wants to tell the woman that Alec is nice, but this seems like an adult conversation - she knows what happens to children that interrupt adult conversations. The pretty woman notices she’s rejoined them though and rips her glare away from Cass’ friend. 

“What’s your name kiddo?” She asks. 

“Cass. Her name is Cass.” 

“Did I ask  _ you?” _

“She’s been nonverbal since I met her. She’s young, and her Warlock Mark is highly visible. It’s very possible she never had a chance to properly learn how to communicate.” 

Cass doesn’t appreciate Alec talking about her like she’s not here, she yanks on his collar again to get this across to him. She feels unusually confident in acting this way with him. He glances down at her, smiling at her easily. 

  
“Sorry sweets didn’t mean to talk about you like you aren’t here.” 

Cass nods at him, before turning her stare back onto the woman behind the bar, she tilts her head to the side, hoping her look can convey what she wishes she could say. 

The woman sighs heavily, scrubbing a hand over her eyes before smiling at her, “Those eyes of yours are too pretty for me to refuse; my name's Maia kiddo.” 

Cass wants to dance, two different people had complimented her eyes today, and they weren’t calling her a monster or whatever an ‘abomination’ is - she’s very happy she decided to go with Alec. 

Maia keeps smiling at her for a second, looking pleased that she got such a positive reaction before she turns to Alec and her earlier scowl reappears. 

“Don’t think I’m doing this for you Shadowhunter. I’ll put in a call, see if I can get the High Warlock to pop by and help the kid out. He’s a good guy, with plenty of connections - I’m sure he can find her someplace safe.” 

Cass can feel the tension drain out of Alec as Maia leaves for the back office, she’s confused. He said he would get her somewhere safe. Is he not staying with her? Does he not want to stay with her? She can’t stop the soft whine that escapes her. His eyes immediately snap down to her, concern lines his features. 

  
“You okay Cass?” 

She doesn’t want him to leave her, not like everyone else has. He’s been so nice to her, he was the first person to compliment her eyes, she doesn’t want to be taken away from him. She’s powerless to stop the tears this time, they leave her in full heaving sobs, her whole body shakes with them. She vaguely realises that the attention of the crowd, which had slowly been slipping back to their drinks and conversations had once again hyper-focused on her and Alec. 

He was trying desperately to calm her, he’s muttering kind words into her hair as she’s tucked into his chest protectively. He’s rubbing her back in a manner that she would usually find soothing, but she can’t stop. She wants nothing more than to just stay with him. She presses her snotty nose into his throat, smushing it into the black marks that run along his neck as she tries to wrap her short arms around him. She’s so tired, but she’s scared that if she falls asleep she’ll miss him leaving. Her eyelids droop, her wails pittering off into soft sniveling. Her little body still quivering with the gulping breaths she’s trying to take, he’s cooing at her now, telling her to sleep. 

Cass tries valiantly to ignore her needs, but she’s only a child, and soon enough her body slumps as she drifts off. 

-

Alec Lightwood didn’t expect to be here of all places when he set out on a late-night walk to clear his mind. He wasn’t having much luck with it, so his mother’s words still echoing in his head he hadn’t really paid much attention to the three men that had rushed past him, they’d clearly been searching for someone, though they never shouted names- they were just bellowing out loud incomprehensible noises. He’d rolled his eyes at them and continued walking - figuring that the lives of mundanes must be truly something else to be excited about running around in a little pack searching for an unknown. 

He was so deep in thought that if his hearing had been anything other than supernatural he probably wouldn’t have heard the soft cries emanating from behind a dumpster in an alleyway as he passed. He’d made his way into the alleyway without thinking about it, the likely hood of the noises being demonic in origin low enough that he was unconcerned. He was equally unprepared, for the noises to be a small child cowering in fear.

Learning Cass’ name, and that she was clearly nonverbal was the easy part. She was clearly a mistreated child - he couldn’t tell you how old she was; covered in dirt and looking as malnourished as she was but she’d obviously been living in a dangerous situation for quite a while. If he hadn’t known she was a Warlock he would have wondered more about how she had stayed alive. Convincing Cass to go with him was much easier than he thought it would have been, it had filled him with a sense of relief that he was the one who found her. He had debated taking her to The Institute for a minute before quickly dismissing the thought, he could only imagine how they would react to a Warlock child being brought into their ‘territory’, he’d seen how they treated fully grown Warlocks - he didn’t want to see how it would go with a child. 

Getting to the Hunter’s Moon was a quick trip, he had known from the beginning that the difficult bit would be actually holding a conversation with those inside. They would obviously be on edge, a Shadowhunter on their turf; however it was the only place he could think of quickly to help Cass. So he’d braved the uneasy atmosphere of the bar, the sharp nature of the bartender; only to end up with a wailing child in his arms. Alec was experienced with kids, he’d had a part in raising his sister; as young as he had been and had once been Max’s main source of comfort for years. While it had taken him longer than expected he’d gotten her to sleep, not easily but with efficiency. 

He’d looked up from the girls dark matted hair to find the patrons of the bar staring at him, Maia; who had disappeared to make a call to the ‘High Warlock’ had similarly stopped where she’d stood as she had taken in the scene. He felt like he was in the middle of a spaghetti western, where the whole tavern stops to look at the outsider, he supposed he fit that description. 

He was so distracted by the stares of the bar, that it almost escaped his notice when the bell above the door rang. 

“Magnus!” Maia said, “Thanks for the speedy response, this guys causing havoc,” She flashed Alec a toothy smile. 

“Oh, yes. I can see that.” 

Alec turned towards the man still standing near the doorway, Cass still cuddled up to him firmly. He gasped a little at the sight of the man in front of him. He was  _ gorgeous.  _ Easily the most handsome man Alec had ever seen. He didn’t notice he was staring until the man had crossed the distance between them and took a peak at the girl in his arms. 

“Well isn’t that precious?” The man smiled, “Shall we sit down? I think we need to have a little chat.” 

Alec nodded along helplessly, the smile having completely disarmed him. He followed the man towards an empty table near the back of the bar, the weight in his arms reminding him what he was here for. They sank down into chairs facing each other, Maia appearing soon after and slumping into a chair besides the Warlock. Alec blinked at her for a second, before refocusing his attention on the man opposite him. 

“Magnus Bane.” The man held out a hand for him, “High Warlock of Brooklyn.” 

**Author's Note:**

> I hear you asking, a new fic? but what about your other WIP's? In my defense the new chap of BTF did not wanna work with me and I needed a break from that universe so here we are. 
> 
> Hope you enjoyeddd! Let me know what you think? I'm not sure if I'll 100% continue this it was just jammed in my mind and I couldn't stop writing this chapter (and the next couple ahjskdl)


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